Gitzo Tripod Fault

Forgot to mention in last blog that one of my carbon fibre tripods developed a fault yesterday. I was using my small Gitzo 1028, since we had been walking, holding it by the head when the legs fell on the ground and I was left holding the head alone.

The top plate, which the head screws onto, had come adrift from the centre column. It should be glued on, permanently. Pushing it back on is a temporary but unreliable fix; it is not as stable as it should be and can come apart at any time.

This is the second time that this has happened with my 1028 and the UK Gitzo distributor, Bogen Imaging, kindly supplied 2 new replacement centre columns free of charge the last time it happened. I will use the other spare one on return home.

In the meantime I will use my larger and heavier Gitzo 1541, which I have had for a couple of years. This is my favoured tripod when I can carry the weight (about 0.5kg heavier). It is just that my back has been somewhat painful for most of this photo trip to New Zealand so I have used the small one quite a bit.

I will contact Bogen UK on return and let them know of failure again, although they have already provided a replacement centre column.

Looks like they have an adhesive problem as, apart from the 2 centre column top plates, I have also had leg end stops fall off and these are also glued on.

The 1028 was replaced by the Gitzo 0541 a couple of years ago, I wonder if they designed the fault away with the new version?